ONE of Abingdon’s oldest pubs is to reopen after a £500,000 refurbishment.

The King’s Head and Bell, in East St Helen Street, was forced to close in November 2007 after structural problems were discovered in the 16th century building.

North East-based company Ladhar Leisure then sold the pub to Foundation Inns, which has carried out repairs.

Steven Green, 45, of the Abingdon branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra), said he was delighted the pub had a future after being boarded up for almost two years.

He said: “There have been a lot of crazy rumours about what was going to happen to the pub, so I’m delighted it’s reopening.

“It will be a real asset and will give the town centre a boost. From what I have heard, the pub will mix drinking with dining – it won’t just be a gastro-pub.

“At one point, the pub did attract quite a young crowd – it was a bit like the Gloucester Arms, in Oxford.

“But before it closed, it got a bit run-down and you could see tourists in East St Helen Street walk into the bar and walk straight back out again.

“The pub is one of only two remaining coaching inns in Abingdon – the other is the Crown and Thistle – and it’s very positive to see such a historic building reopening.”

The pub is believed to have been visited by Charles I during the Civil War, when the king was based in Oxford.

The 18th century composer George Handel is also thought to have stayed at the inn after storming out of Oxford following a dispute at the Sheldonian Theatre.

Ian Grundy, managing director of Foundation Inns, which owns six pubs in the South East, said contractors were working flat out to finish the refurbishment in time for the reopening on Friday, October 30.

He added: “We bought the pub about 16 months ago and found some serious structural problems – one of the central beams had collapsed.

“The pub is a listed building, so we have worked closely with the district council to restore it to its former glory.

“We’re keeping the style and feel of this very old building and putting in a quality food operation in a pub environment.

“We have extended the pub into the courtyard, but 80 per cent of the courtyard remains, because it’s one of the pub’s big attractions.

“We want the food to be sourced locally and we’re not tied to any brewery so there will be a selection of real ales, including Adnams and Hook Norton.”